Clark said the testing, mandatory since March 1, requires would-be employees to perform push-ups, sit-ups, deep squats, a quarter-mile walk or run and other exercises before being admitted to the TDCJ academy.

Current employees won't be required to pass the test until next year, but Goodley and others were being “familiarized” with the test as part of in-service training.

Clark said Goodley began the testing at 7 a.m. and completed it with no apparent distress, afterward monitoring a defensive tactics class. When the class ended shortly before noon, he went to his truck in the prison parking lot.

The guard was found unconscious in his vehicle minutes later, Clark said. Goodley was administered CPR and taken to an Angleton hospital, where he was declared dead.

It was not immediately clear Friday how many of the exercises Goodley completed.

About 800 academy candidates have participated in the test, Clark said.